The Master
The Master is an album by Warren Cuccurullo and Ustad Sultan Khan, released in the USA by Six Degrees Records on 22 July 2014. About the album Most young Americans growing up in the Sixties first heard the strains of Indian classical music through the recordings of The Beatles. George Harrison, the group's lead guitarist, immersed himself in the genre beginning in 1966 and used Indian musicians on Beatles tracks like "Love You To", from their 1966 album, Revolver, and "Within You, Without You", from 1967′s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. As a young guitarist and rock and roll fan, Warren Cuccurullo was well aware of those songs. But it was an event outside of The Beatles' music that most profoundly instilled a love of Indian classical music in the Brooklyn-born guitarist. "My first exposure to Indian music was The Ed Sullivan Show with Ravi Shankar via George Harrison," says Cuccurullo. "When that sound came over here, I was instantly attracted to it-just the Indian classical music itself, forget about "Within You, Without You" and the stuff on Revolver." Shankar’s Sullivan performance, from 1970, put Cuccurullo on a musical journey that culminated with this album, The Master. The record features the guitarist performing with Ustad Sultan Khan, the late musician long celebrated as India's master of the sarangi, the short-necked stringed instrument that figures prominently in Hindustani music. The Master originated during a 1998 weekend recording session in London between Cuccurullo and Khan. The recordings, made on 24-track tape, lay dormant for years until Cuccurullo dusted them off in early 2014 and added bass and drum tracks. The resulting blend of Khan’s inimitable sarangi playing and singing with Cuccurullo's lushly textured ambient guitar is a fusion of Eastern and Western musical influences. Khan, who died in 2011, is legendary in India. He single-handedly kept the sarangi tradition alive and, like Shankar, was known for ambassadorial outreach efforts. Track listing 657036 120624 #"The Holy Man's Plea" - 4:29 #"4D Suite" - 11:56 #"Mirror Margana" - 4:44 #"Sikar" - 4:57 #"The Lost Master" - 5:04 #"Octavia" - 8:13 #"You Can't Tell" - 2:25 Credits *Acoustic guitar, guitar (electronic ambient) - Warren Cuccurullo *Bass (synth) - Eric Hart (track: 5), Simone Cello (track: 1) *Design - Janet Wolsborn *Drums, percussion - Joe Travers (track: 2) *Engineer, recorded by Mark Tinley *Management - Jean Renard *Mastered by Count *Producer, mixed by Eric Hart *Producer, mixed by, composed by Warren Cuccurullo *Sarangi, voice, composed by Ustad Sultan Khan *Tambura - Jaspal Pandhwa *Distributed by Six Degrees Records *Manufactured by Six Degrees Records *Phonographic copyright (p) - Warren Cuccurullo *Copyright © - Six Degrees Records *Engineered at Privacy *Recorded at Privacy *Produced at Glaus Haus Studios *Mixed at Glaus Haus Studios Notes: *This album is dedicated to the loving memory of Ustad Sultan Khan. Barcode and other identifiers: *Barcode: 6 57036 12062 4 *Mastering SID Code: IFPI LN09 *Matrix / Runout: 2565189 01 *Matrix / Runout (Text): 05/31/2014 06:52:26#26568 *Label Code: LC-19379 Category:Warren Cuccurullo albums